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Spring 2004 NEW ISSUE

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus, Trumpet & Organ
MICHAEL BEDFORD [b. 1949]: Psalm 96
SATB, Trumpet & Organ • #6207 • $2.05 • c. 4:00
Winner of the 2002-04 AGO/ECS PUBLISHING Award in Choral Composition
Sponsored by the American Guild of Organists and ECS Publishing. Michael Bedford is new to ECS Publishing.
A setting of Psalm 96:1-4, 6, 9 from The Book of Common Prayer as adapted by the composer, this rousing piece is an ideal church anthem or concert opener. The opening section features dialogue between the chorus and the trumpet underpinned by the organ. This is followed by sectional solos accompanied by a spritely organ
part. Then comes a contrasting, contemplative section with muted trumpet intersperesed into unaccompanied passages. Finally, a recapitulation of the opening section is capped-off by a coda featuring flourishes.USE: General
• moderately easy
• church, college, community, professional choruses

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus & Organ

BYRON ADAMS [b. 1955]: Praises of Jerusalem
SATB & Organ • #6315 • $2.50 • c. 5:00
The music of Byron Adams is new to ECS Publishing.
This work was commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for the Biennial National Convention in Los Angeles, California, July 2004, dedicated to the memory of Ruth and Clarence Mader, and underwritten by the Ruth and Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund.
“Praises of Jerusalem is a setting of the radiant Psalm 122, which begins ‘I was glad when they said unto me.’ I imagined an ardent pilgrim of Biblical times entering the great temple in Jerusalem, and being spiritually overjoyed by that uniquely awe-inspiring experience. The ‘Jerusalem’ whose praises are sung in this anthem is not just the terrestrial city, however, but the celestial one as well.
The musical idiom is permeated by the Southern Protestant hymnody in which I was drenched as a child, but it was my desire to compose a work that would have meaning to any spiritual person. I designed Praises of Jerusalem so that it is within the capabilities of most well trained church choirs, and so that it would be
appropriate at many different times in the liturgical year.”
—Byron AdamsUSE: General
• moderately easy
• church, college, community, professional choruses

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus & Organ

JULIAN WACHNER [b. 1969]: Introit for All Saints
SSATBB & Organ • #5855 • $1.45 • c. 1:00
“O Lord open thou our lips and our mouth shall show forth thy praise. O how glorious is the kingdom wherein all the saints rejoice. O come let us adore.”
Although it is brief, this attractive setting of words from The Book of Common Prayer still mananges to showcase the unique voice of this dynamic young composer. This work requires an organ with a volume pedal.USE: All Saints Day, General
• difficult
• accomplished church, college, community, professional choruses

SACRED CHORAL — Treble Chorus & Organ
LEO NESTOR, arr. [b. 1948]:Mary the Dawn
SSA & Organ • #5859 • $1.75 • c. 3:30
This is an arrangement of a 1949 tune by Paul Cross set to Anonymous words.
“We sang Mary the Dawn as children at St. Augustine’s School in Culver City, a small enclave in West Los Angeles, and I can still hear our pure clear voices in the neo-gothic church with the improvised accompaniments of the organist professor John Larkin.
Many years later, the musical gathering of the women religious of Washington and the women of the Choir of the Basilica occasioned this setting to be sung in the ample acoustic warmth of the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception with its noble and rich organ.
Only as an adult did I reflect upon and acknowledge this anonymous text as an exemplar of Christology. Mary the mother is seen and sung in vivid, flowing and appropriate perspective to her divine Son, in whom all things come to fulfillment.
How wisely did Paul Cross choose a simple modal mantra: I have striven to provide the chant with adornment in the evolving linear and harmonic fabric of the setting. Above all things, I encourage the women who sing this piece to revel in the delicious textual images as they come to life in the singers’ lyrical mouths and voices, thence to the listeners’ minds and hearts. The work should be sung and played with gentle rubato, without metronomic regularity.”
—Leo NestorUSE: Marian-oriented services, General
• moderately difficult
• skilled church, college, community, professional choruses

SACRED CHORAL — Mixed Chorus & Oboe LEO NESTOR, arr. [b. 1948]: Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
Mezzo-Soprano Solo, SATB & Oboe • #6047 • $3.70 • c. 3:25
“Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow is another of the many Christmas melodies carried forward from my California youth. This setting came into being uncharacteristically, over a long series of travels, times when the calm of other places permits reverie to be re-clothed. And so this spiritual traveled with me from its happy beginnings in San Antonio in the winter of 2000, to Los Angeles in the summer, back home to Washington, and saw completion at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota in the summer of 2002. Far from a complex piece, the work seemed to keep asking to be rarified in its simplicity while retaining its emotional directness and the harmonic opulence I had chosen for it. These are the elements to keep in mind when singing this spiritual: warmth, honesty, clarity and richness.Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow is inscribed to Godfrey Mosley, a dear friend of the many Washington years whose presence has been always that of a quiet beacon.”
—Leo NestorUSE: Advent and Christmas services or concerts
• moderately difficult
• accomplished church, college, community, professional choruses

CHRISTMAS CHORAL — Mixed Chorus, Oboe & Piano
HOWARD HELVEY [b. 1968]: See, Amid the Winter’s Snow
SATB, Oboe (or Inst. in C) & Piano • #6128 • $2.05 • c. 3:25
Oboe part • #6301 • $2.50
Howard Helvey is new to ECS Publishing. This is a setting of a text by Edward Caswall.
“Having been long-attracted to the Lydian mode (characterized by the raised fourth degree), I set out to create a Christmas anthem incorporating that color. I felt that the Lydian mode, along with heightened chromaticism, worked best within the refrain of See, Amid the Winter’s Snow. This seemed to balance well the largely diatonic harmony of the anthem’s verses, perhaps creating a sense of expectancy of Christ’s birth (as opposed to a repeated celebration or commemoration).”
—Howard HelveyUSE: Christmas services or concerts
• moderately easy
• church, college, community, professional choruses

Click on the "Listen to the program" link. This is a recording of the entire concert. A Festival of Carols begins at 16:30if you choose to fast-forward.

SATB (divisi) • #6195 • $11.00 • c. 13:00
Harp Part • #6196 • $15.15This work was commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers. The music was composed in the summer and early fall of 2002 and first performed by the Dale Warland Singers at four performances in December 2002 of the annual Echoes of Christmas concerts. It was broadcast nationally by Minnesota Public Radio on their annual Echoes of Christmas program (see above for link).
“A Festival of Carols for mixed chorus and harp is based on five Christmas carol texts by 19th century American poets and hymn writers. Although it was my intention to use earlier American texts, I found that most Christmas carols sung in America prior to the 19th century were carols brought to this country by immigrants from their homelands in Europe. Thus, many of the early carols sung here did not originate in this country. The nineteenth century, however, did produce an abundance of new texts by American writers, and these were also set to music by American composers. Some of these carols have become quite well-known while others have remained relatively obscure. In the present work all of the music is new whether or not the texts are familiar. Thus, the carols herein are not arrangements of previously existing tunes but entirely new melodies and harmonizations with the harp used both as an accompanying instrument and as an intrinsic thread within the larger musical fabric.”
—Frank FerkoUSE: Christmas services and concerts
• moderately difficult
• skilled church, college, community, professional choruses

SATB • #6018 • $1.75 • c. 5:45
Jeffrey Bishop is new to ECS Publishing.Of a Rose
“My text is based on two manuscripts, one 15th century in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and the other 16th century in the library of Balliol College, Oxford. My choice between the two was largely practical, rhythmic consistency and linguistic clarity being the criteria. However, one or two poetic flights were allowed to stand. I have tidied up some spelling to make the words intelligible to the modern reader. The five branches are the five joys of the Virgin. The tune is adapted from a magnificent folk song ‘How cold the wind doth blow’ (or ‘The Unquiet Grave’) from Sussex in the southeast of England.

Nay, ivy, it may not be iwys
“I derived the text of this carol from two incomplete and corrupt manuscripts, one 15th century in the British Museum, the other 16th century at Balliol College, Oxford. Both have sections missing and the rhyme scheme is highly irregular. The folk background to the whole ‘Holly and Ivy’ tradition is lost in the mists of time. This carol was almost certainly a dance carol and I have set it with this in mind. Ivy symbolizes women and fertility. As late as the 18th century, effigies of ‘Holly-boy’ and ‘Ivy-girl’ were carried at Shrovetide. Ivy from church decoration was taken after Christmas and twined round the necks of ewes to ensure fecund lambing as late as the 20th century. The carol has a direct connection with the immaculate conception. It is also a charming Christmas ‘battle of the sexes’ with, despite the ominous final verse, implications of innocent flirtation. The folk lore relating birds to holly and ivy is extensive. Several books treat the subject at length.
The bibliography in the second edition of Early English Carols (ed. Green, Oxford, 1977)
would be a good place to start. The tune is based on a Sussex folk song ‘Bold Captain Grant.’ Several collectors published versions of it about one hundred years ago but the tune is much older. It is clearly a dance song which made pairing it with this dance carol text particularly apt.”
—Jeffrey BishopUSE: Christmas services or concerts
• moderately easy
• church, college, community, professional choruses

CHRISTMAS CHORAL — Mixed Chorus UnaccompaniedKEVIN SIEGFRIED [b. 1969]: There is no rose
SATB (divisi) • #6075 • $1.75 • c. 3:11
The well-known 15th century English carol text, There is no rose, is given an elegant new setting by Kevin Siegfried, faculty member at The Boston Conservatory.There is no rose was premiered in Paris at Eglise Saint-Séverin during the summer of 2002 in association with the European American Musical Alliance Summer Program and is Siegfried’s second piece published by E. C. Schirmer Music Company.
His first publication, Media vita for SSATB chorus (Catalog No. 5942) released in 2002, was hailed by the English journal Choir & Organ as “an antiphon of austere beauty,” combining the “timeless impersonality of Byzantine chant” with the “pressure and presence of personal conviction.”USE: Christmas services or concerts
• moderately easy
• church, college, community, professional choruses

ROBERT CONVERY [b. 1954]: Young Jesus Sweit
Soprano Solo, SATB • #6028 • $1.75 • c. 3:00
This is a setting of words by the 16th century writers James, John and Robert Wedderburn.
“Young Jesus Sweit was written as a gift for soprano Cynthia Richards-Hewes. The motet’s folk-like tenderness is meant to conjure the same gentleness with which a rose unfolds to reveal its heart. Originally composed in 1993 for unaccompanied mixed choir, its first performance was given in 1998 by The Amadeus Choir in Toronto, Ontario. I later arranged the motet in 1999, with harp obbligato added, for a performance at Trinity Church, Wall Street in New York City.”
—Robert ConveryUSE: Christmas services or concerts
• moderately easy
• church, college, community, professional choruses

DANIEL PINKHAM [b. 1923]: Three Spiritual MadrigalsNote: Because this is a large work, the sound files have been divided into three sections. For your convenience, the appropriate page is noted after the section title.

Jesu that dost in Mary dwell (pg. 1)

Christmas Day (pg.4)

Jesus to cast one thought upon (pg.8)

SATB • #5992 • $2.05 • c. 5:00
“Gerard Manley Hopkins, English-born priest and poet, was one of the most significant literary figures in the British Isles in the 19th century. Two of the texts are translations of familiar Latin hymns. The third, Christmas Day, expresses the hope that Bethlehem might lead to a sight of the Lord. The Three Spiritual Madrigals are comfortable in a non-liturgical setting or in a Christmastide choral concert. They are vocally gracious and yet highly evocative by reason of their directness and simplicity.”
—Daniel PinkhamUSE: Christmastide services or concerts
• moderately difficult
• skilled church, college, community, professional choruses

GWYNETH WALKER [b. 1947]: God’s Grandeur
SATB Soli, SATB (divisi) • #6046 • $3.70 • c. 7:00
“God’s Grandeur was completed on December 31, 2001 in Braintree, Vermont.
The texts for this work are three poems by the English poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1899). God’s Grandeur is in three sections, each expressing a different poem. These poems, which are presented without break, are: God’s Grandeur, The Windhover (excerpted) and Pied Beauty.
The strong common focus is the glory of God as especially manifested in the beauty of nature. ‘He fathers forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him.’ The musical settings endeavor to allow the inherent rhythms of the words to speak. Therefore, especially in the first of the three sections, meters change often. The rhythms are fluid. The tempi accommodate comfortable articulation of the words. Central images in the opening movement are ‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God,’ (triumphant octave leaps in the chorus to portray the word ‘charged’) and ‘...the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods...with ah! bright wings’ (followed by fluttering
of wings [‘la la’]).
The image of wings connects the first and second sections. Against a fluttering background, solo voices sing this ecstatic poem: ‘I caught this morning morning’s minion, kingdom of daylight’s dauphin...’ The thrill of
watching the bird in flight leads directly into the closing section: ‘Glory be to God for dappled things...’ As in the opening section, this is triumphant music, yet also tender (‘finches’ wings’).”
—Gwyneth WalkerUSE: General services or concerts
• difficult (for the divisi writing only)
• accomplished church, college, community, professional choruses

SECULAR CHORAL — WINTER SEASON
Mixed Chorus & optional PercussionSTANLEY M. HOFFMAN [b. 1959]: Land of Crystal Dreams
SATB & optional Percussion • #6166 • $1.75 • c. 3:00
Parts for Glockenspiel and Vibraphone • #6167 • $2.50
“In the summer of 2002, I had cause to compose a secular carol for the winter season scored for SATB chorus and two percussionists. I found no well-known text that I felt like setting at that time. My wife reminded me that our (then) fifteen year old niece, Erica, had been acknowledged as a gifted student by her school, and suggested that I collaborate with her on this piece. I liked her idea very much and soon sent an e-mail message to Erica and she accepted. After I received her lyrics, I wrote music to them and adapted them to better fit the meter
of the music. My goal was to compose music that captures the feeling of a winter landscape as seen through her eyes.”
—Stanley M. HoffmanUSE: Winter season concerts
• moderately easy choral and optional percussion parts
• school, community, professional choruses

SECULAR CHORAL — CHANUKAH
Treble or Mixed Chorus & PianoROBERT APPLEBAUM, arr. [b. 1941]:Five-Sided S’vivon
Two-part Treble Chorus & Piano • #6117 • $2.05 • c. 3:00
SATB & Piano • #6118 • $2.50 • c. 3:00
The Hebrew text for this arrangement is based on words by L. Kipnis from The Songs We Sing, edited by Harry Coopersmith, published by the United Synagogue Commission on Jewish Education in 1950. The music is based on the Traditional melody S’vivon sov, sov, sov or Dreidle, spin, spin spin. Originally, Mr. Applebaum sent only the treble version to the publisher. We thought it was so much fun that we asked him to create an SATB version as well. Each edition contains performance notes, an English translation by the arranger and a pronunciation
guide for the Hebrew.USE: concerts
• moderately easy
• temple, school, community, professional choruses

SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus & Clarinet

STEPHEN CHATMAN [b. 1950]: How Sweet and FairNote: Because this is a large work, the sound files have been divided into two sections. For your convenience, the appropriate page is noted after the section title.

Go, Lovely Rose (pg.1)

To Daffodils (pg.4)

SATB & Clarinet • #7.0432 • $2.05 • c. 5:00
Clarinet Part • #7.0433 • $5.05How Sweet and Fair was commissioned in June, 2001 by the Mount Royal Choral Association in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Mount Royal Youth Choir, Calgary, Alberta, David Ferguson, director. For these two connected pastoral settings, Mr. Ferguson and Stephen Chatman selected two complementary
English Renaissance texts. Both poems, Go, Lovely Rose by Edmund Waller (1606– 1687) and To Daffodils by Robert Herrick (1591–1674), symbolize love, beauty, and the fragility of human life. The dark straight tone of the clarinet adds a warm dimension to the simple vocal textures and the restrained emotion of the words
and music.USE: concerts
• moderately easy
• school, community, professional choruses

SECULAR CHORAL — Mixed Chorus Unaccompanied
DAVID CONTE [b. 1955]: The Composer
SATB (divisi) • #6076 • $2.50 • c. 4:30
Composed to a text by John Stirling Walker, The Composer was commissioned by the Walden School, Dublin, New Hampshire, in celebration of its thirtieth anniversary, and was written for Patricia Plude, Director of the Walden School, and for Leo Wanenchak, Conductor of the Walden School Chorus.
“The Composer speaks to the nature of an artist’s inspiration as something that can transcend personal will or earth-bound concerns. [I] had in mind Beethoven as an example of this quality of receptivity to a heaven-sent creative impulse. Mr. Conte’s music captures the spirit of the text with the usual inimitable accuracy of feeling.”
—John Stirling WalkerUSE: concerts
• moderately difficult
• skilled school, community, professional choruses

DAVID CONTE [b. 1955]: Prelude and Fugue
Organ Solo • #6216 • $10.10 • c. 8:00
“Prelude and Fugue, composed in memory of Nadia Boulanger, was commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for the Biennial National Convention in Los Angeles, California, July 2004. The work [will be] premiered by Ken Cowan.
The tone of the Prelude is solemn and serious, beginning with a long, angular but lyrical theme stated over a Bb pedal point. The piece slowly builds in intensity as this theme is stated three more times, separated by contrasting episodic material. The Bb pedal point remains throughout the entire composition.
The four-voice Fugue is marked Andante moderato. Though the subject is motivically related to the main theme of the Prelude, the duple-compound meter gives the Fugue a more buoyant and lively character. The development section is rhythmically more animated with running sixteenth notes, containing inversions
and stretti of the subject. The rhythmic intensity increases again at the recapitulation with the introduction of triplet sixteenth notes. The Fugue concludes with a brief pedal cadenza in the affirming tonality of Bb major.”
—David ConteUSE: concerts, recitals, auditions
• moderately difficult

JULIAN WACHNER [b. 1969]: Toccata, Adagio and Fugue
Organ Solo • #5843 • $12.60 • c. 10:00
A new take on old forms, this piece is full of juicy writing for the accomplished organist. Composed using a chromatic, tonal musical language, the work begins with a virtuosic Toccata, followed by a lyrical Adagio movement and ends with a flashy, unconventional Fugue that is peppered with homophonic accented chords.USE: concerts, recitals, auditions
• difficult

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC — Oboe & Organ

JAMES HOPKINS [b. 1939]: Partita on “Cranham”
Oboe & Organ • Score & Part • #6177 • $22.70 • c. 12:00Partita on “Cranham” for oboe and organ was commissioned for the 22nd annual Baroque Music Festival, Corona del Mar, by Jerry and Roberta Dauderman.
The first performance took place on May 24, 2002 with Marianne Pfau, baroque oboe, Se-Eun Lim, organ, and the Festival Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Burton Karson, Artistic Director. Following the very successful premiere, the composer recast the work in an alternative version as an organ solo, Cranham Variations.
The oboe and organ version consists of the theme, based on Gustav Holst’s tune, Cranham (“In the Bleak Midwinter”) and four variations. Following a decorated statement of the Theme, Variation I features the theme as background for a series of highly ornamented cadenzas for both organ and oboe. Variation II presents the
oboe in a fairly literal inversion of the theme against a pulsing accompaniment. Variation III is a very fast scherzo featuring the organ against a cantus firmus in the oboe. The final variation presents the theme as a lilting pastorale, divided equally between the two instruments.USE: concerts, recitals, auditions
• moderately difficult

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC — Violoncello Technique

HANS JØRGEN JENSEN, ed. Galamian Scale System for Violoncello Volume Two
Violoncello • #1.3329 • $24.95
“The Galamian Scale System Volume Two ‘Double and Multiple Stops in Scale and Arpeggio Exercises’ is a wonderful companion to Volume One ‘Scale and Arpeggio Exercises [#1.3282].’ After transcribing The Galamian Scale System Volume One, I felt that the Volume Two would also work very well for the cello.
The Galamian double stop book is complete, comprehensive, and a valuable addition to the cello technique literature. I transcribed Volume Two five years ago and have used it with my college students at Northwestern University in the years since. After having tested and fine-tuned the fingerings and articulations, it is now ready to be published.
Practicing double stops should be a fundamental part of every cellist’s daily practice routine. It develops good intonation, strength, balance, and a solid control of fingerboard spacing. I recommend practicing double stops with a very light touch in the left hand. To help promote that feeling, it can be beneficial to practice the double stops in a pianissimo dynamic. Practicing double stop shifts with big, audible slides develops an accurate feel for the distances between notes and helps in controlling the rate of expansion or contraction of the hand.
Using thumb/three for playing minor thirds in the lower positions was first advocated by Paul Tortelier in his book How I Play, How I Teach. It is important, however, to also practice thirds scales using thumb/two and one/three in the transitional positions. It develops the octave relationship between the thumb and the third finger and finger placement in the octave shape.
In order to benefit the most from this book, each double stop exercise should be mastered to a very high degree of technical perfection.”
—Hans Jørgen Jensen